1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a display monitor apparatus used with a computer system, and more particularly to a display monitor apparatus having an internal power supply and components of a universal serial bus system, and a method for controlling power supplied to peripheral devices through universal serial bus hubs.
2. Related Art
A typical personal computer has peripheral devices connected, such as a monitor and keyboard. A user might want to use additional peripheral devices, such as a mouse, printer, light pen, or plotter. When a user tries to use multiple peripheral devices with a computer, it can be difficult to connect them since each peripheral typically has a unique type of connector. The user must carefully match the plug from each peripheral with a corresponding connector on the computer due to all the different connector types. Also, it can be difficult to configure the computer to communicate with all the peripheral devices due to the fact that some peripheral devices require unique types of hardware and software. The task of adding peripheral devices to a computer can be especially arduous for computers that do not support Plug-and-Play.
To solve the above described problems, a universal serial bus system has been developed. The universal serial bus is a basic system for connecting peripheral devices to a computer. Peripheral devices connected to a universal serial bus system are also referred to as universal serial bus peripheral devices.
Some examples of universal serial bus systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,404 for System Having Independently Addressable Bus Interfaces Coupled to Serially Connected Multi-Ported Signal Distributors Generating and Maintaining Frame Based Polling Schedule Favoring Isochronous Peripherals issued to Knoll et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,901 for Method and Apparatus for Serial Bus Elements of an Hierarchical Serial Bus Assembly to Electrically Represent Data and Control States to Each Other issued to Morriss et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,610 for System for Assigning Geographical Addresses in a Hierarchical Serial Bus by Enabling Upstream Port and Selectively Enabling Disabled Ports at Power On/Reset issued to Knoll et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,813 for System and Method for Power Control in a Universal Serial Bus issued to Holmdahl, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,555 for Method and Apparatus for Exchanging Data, Status, and Commands Over an Hierarchical Serial Bus Assembly Using Communication Packets issued to Morriss et al.
A computer display monitor apparatus having some elements of a universal serial bus system is disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 08/852,732 for Monitor for Use With Computer System and Method of Controlling Supply of Power to Computer Peripherals Connected With the Monitor, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on May 7, 1997.
Some examples of improvements related to serial buses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,554 for Data Communication System Based on a Serial Bus and a Monitor Station for Use With Such System issued to Van Steenbrugge, U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,662 for Multiplex Control System Having Enhanced Integrity issued to Floyd et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,710 for Bus Access Circuit for High Speed Digital Data Communication issued to Einolf, Jr. et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,183 for Bus Interface Units Sharing a Common Bus Using Distributed Control for Allocation of the Bus issued to Means et al.
An example of a bus interconnect circuit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,458 for Bus Interconnect Circuit Including Port Control Logic for a Multiple Node Communication Network issued to Oprescu et al. An example of status management in a system having peripheral devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,547 for Status Management and Data Transmission in a System Comprising Peripherals and a Controller Thereof issued to Sekiya. An example of a method for transferring video information is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,545 for Direct Access Video Bus Computer-System and Method for Transferring Video Information Using a Dedicated Video Bus issued to Marshall et al.
Some examples of power management for computer systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,756 for Sub-Bus Activity Detection Technique for Power Management Within a Computer System issued to O'Brien, U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,574 for Portable Computer Apparatus Having a Displays Capable of Displaying Power Management Information and Method of Controlling the Display issued to Kawashima, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,809 for Voltage Control Circuit for a Dual Voltage Bus Computer System issued to Gantt.
I have discovered that it would be desirable to further enhance a display monitor apparatus to enable it to control and monitor power supplies of universal serial bus peripheral devices, and to communicate the status of such power supplies to a user.